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The article focuses on the intensive system of agriculture in Missouri bottomlands which results to good economic output and has altered the nutrient cycling, hydrology, and biodiversity of the entire ecosystem. It mentions that the Missouri's ecosystem is managed by the Little River Drainage District. A diagram is presented depicting the five drainage ditches in the southern Little River Drainage District.

The article discusses the construction of the Headwaters Diversion channel to help drain and protect 480,000 ha of agricultural lands in southeast Missouri from internal seasonal flooding and Mississippi River backflow at flood stage. Central to this success was the diversion of water coming from the Ozark Plateau and Francois Mountains directly into the Mississippi River using a series of leveed channels in order to isolate the upper basin and prevent overloading of the lower drainage system.

The article discusses the impacts of the 2008 spring rains and flooding on the agricultural fields in Illinois, Missouri and Indiana. It notes that the flooding and erosion events that occurred in the three regions have resulted to delayed corn and soybean planting, crop loss, and damaged levees and agricultural lands. It recommends that separating watersheds with high-slope gradients and well-drained soils is important to reduce the effects of floods.